By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading beer making firms in the country, Nigerian Breweries Plc, has assured its shareholders of good returns on their investment in the firm.
This assurance was given by the board of directors of Nigerian Breweries Plc in a statement signed by the Secretary and Legal Adviser of the company, Mr Uaboi Agbebaku.
The leading brewer, which released its Q3 financial statements yesterday, said it recorded a revenue of N254.7 billion in the first nine months of this year.
The board also announced the sum of N7.99 billion as interim dividend. This translates to N1 per ordinary share of 50 kobo in the share capital of the company.
In the results made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the board of the firm said operating activities grew from N37.9 billion to N42.3 billion during the period.
It added that while the profit before tax rose from N27.8 billion to N34.4 billion, the profit after tax improved to close at N23.9 billion from the N20.1 billion posted in the same period in 2016.
Mr Agbebaku, while commenting on the financial statements, stated that “despite the continued challenging business environment, revenue in the first nine months of the year grew compared to the corresponding period in 2016.”
He added that as a result of the company’s continued focus on internal efficiencies under its Cost Leadership programme, results from operating activities improved, which combined with lower Net Finance Charges resulted in increased profitability in the period.
He noted that the interim dividend is payable subject to deduction of withholding tax at the appropriate rates, on Thursday, November 23, 2017 to all shareholders registered in the books of the company at the close of business on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
In the statement, the board maintained that whilst the operating environment for the remainder of the year is expected to remain challenging, it is confident that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the company was well placed to deliver a good return on investment to shareholders.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka